‘No matter what costume Silk Smitha wore, she never looked vulgar; she could carry off anything’

Actress Urvashi has a huge fan following not only in the Malayalam film industry but also in Tamil cinema. Although she took a short gap from the film industry, she is now very active in films. The various characters portrayed brilliantly by Urvashi over the years still remain in the hearts of her fans. During the promotion of her latest film Asha, the actress spoke about Silk Smitha and recalled the love and support she gave her during the early stages of her film career.

‘Silk Smitha has helped me a lot. I considered her like an elder sister. Actresses who appeared in glamorous roles were treated differently within the film industry at that time. So, Silk Smitha would often stay away from others and sit alone. She generally did not talk to anyone. Many people looked at her differently. Her costumes were also of that kind.

I have never seen anyone with a costume sense as good as Smitha’s. Her sense of colour and makeup was excellent too. It was a time when people used a lot of makeup. Many, especially those who performed glamour dances, would even add decorative elements above their eyes. Smitha could do anything. No matter what costume she wore, she never looked vulgar. She could carry off any costume.

Smitha had a great desire to design my costumes. She would often say, ‘I’ll design the costumes for one of your films. It would be so much fun, Urvashi. You have such a good physique.’ I would wear anything she gave me. She had that desire until the very end. But at that time, I already had a costume designer, and costume designing as a profession was not very common then. It was occasionally seen only in Mumbai. She liked me very much,’ said Urvashi.